Mine
by WitlessFool
Summary: Because you are the best thing that's ever been mine. A collection of Ruka x Akatsuki one-shots. COMPLETE
1. Mine

**Disclaimer:** Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

**Author's Note:** Because the VK world deserves more RukaxAkatsuki fanfiction and I'm determined to populate it with such.

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**Mine**

**Prompt:** You are the best thing that's ever been mine.

It started off with a simple hello.

She was hiding nervously behind her father's legs, uncertain whether or not her cousins were going to like her. Although one of them was apparently her cousin from her mother's side, she wasn't sure how her other "cousin" was going to treat her. There were hardly any blood relations between them at all. Plus, she thought worriedly as she popped a thumb in her mouth and sucked – a habit that only crept out when she was really nervous, they were both boys. They probably weren't going to like anything she liked.

The blonde boy took one look at her and turned his bored gaze away, clearly unimpressed. The last thing he probably wanted was a girl to gatecrash his little playgroup. Doesn't he like her at least a little? Ruka frowned as she shuffled her feet in discomfort. Her mother even went to all the extra effort this morning to make her look pretty. She was wearing a white sundress with matching ribbons and ballet flats. Maybe it was best if she went home.

"Hello." A soft voice spoke to her.

Peeking out from around her father's legs, Ruka's eyes met the solemn gaze of the redhead. He flashed her a small smile and held out his hand.

"I'm Akatsuki Kain and this is our cousin Hanabusa Aidou. Would you like to join us for afternoon tea?"

Her father knelt down beside her and encouraged her gently. "Afternoon tea, that sounds like fun. What do you say, sweetheart?"

Her worries vanished and with a little giggle and a small nod, Ruka stepped out from the safety of her father's presence and put her hand trustingly into Akatsuki's.

"I'm Ruka."

Years later, she would look back and remember how formal and mature Akatsuki was, even at the tender age of five and that even though they had just met, he was already looking out for her. He would look back and remember how pretty Ruka was, all dolled up in white like a Russian doll.

It grew with a promise.

It had been a couple of years since their initial encounter and now, Ruka couldn't imagine life without her two cousins. Yes, that included the super annoying blonde one.

Contrary to what everyone including their parents thought, the three of them actually got along famously well. Sure, Hanabusa wanted them to do things his way most of the time, but he knew when to concede control too. It was only occasionally that they would fight like cats and dogs. Even then, that was just between them. If anyone else dared to pick on one of them, then it was gloves off and game on. No one messed with the trio.

Despite those sentiments, there were still times when Ruka would love nothing more than to wring Hanabusa's neck for always coming up with the most stupid ideas. After all, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be stuck in the situation she was in now.

"Ruka," the blonde idiot hissed up at her. "You've got to come down. Now!"

Staring down at the ground from her perch up on a tree branch, the little girl shook her head determinedly. It was an awfully long way down to the ground and she couldn't think of a way to reach it without getting hurt. Just thinking about it was making her stomach a little bit queasy. Clutching onto the main trunk with both hands, she shivered as a gust of cold wind blasted at her.

"Ruka," her cousin sounded almost frantic. "I'm serious. For the love of all things Holy, get down here now before he arrives!"

"I can't." Squeezing her eyes shut, Ruka tightened her hold on the tree, ignoring the way the wood dug into her skin.

"Hanabusa," Ruka heard a familiar laid-back voice speak out from down below. She wanted to look to see who it was but another peek down at the ground would probably make her more nauseous than she already was. "Why are you staring up at the tree?"

"Uh," Hanabusa let out a nervous giggle. "Nothing. Nothing at all. Hey, have you found Ruka yet?" Maybe she went back to the house. Why don't you look there?"

"Hanabusa," the previous laid-back voice lowered down to a warning tone – a clear sign that the speaker didn't believe a word out of the blonde's mouth. "What are you trying to hide?"

"N-nothing," Hanabusa stuttered, his voice rising into a high pitch – a sure sign that he was indeed hiding something. "Why are you so suspicious of me, Akatsuki?"

"Akatsuki?" Ruka hiccupped, on the verge of tears as she latched onto that word. He would be able to help her – Ruka knew he would. Even now, simply knowing that he was down there, already made her feel a lot better.

"Ruka?" Akatsuki's voice rose in disbelief before settling back down in an angry growl. "Aidou, what did you do?"

"N-nothing," Hanabusa repeated, almost indignant. He knew that if Akatsuki deemed that he was the one at fault, there would be hell to pay. Despite the fact that they were both cousins, his redhead cousin always seemed to side with Ruka, even though she was just a girl. "Hey, I think she's stuck. I'm going to go and get help." With that, the boy took off running back to the main house.

"Hanabusa," Akatuski yelled after him. "I'm going to –"

"Tsuki?" Ruka called out again.

Sighing, Akatsuki pushed murderous thoughts about his blonde cousin to the back his mind and focused on the problem at hand. "Ruka," he lowered his voice to a far gentler tone. "What happened? We were just playing hide and seek a moment ago. How did you end up in a tree?"

Ruka scrunched up her face as she thought about it, momentarily forgetting that she was at such a great height. "Well, Hanabusa suggested that I should pick this place to be my hiding spot. He even gave me a boost up. I climbed and climbed but now I want to get back down and I can't. I don't want to fall."

"I won't let you." At those words, Ruka opened her eyes. Hazel clashed with amber as her eyes locked onto his. "Come on. Jump. I'll catch you."

"Promise?"

Akatsuki's face broke out into a gentle smile as he held his arms out wide for her. "I promise."

"Always and always?" She prodded.

"Always." He repeated solemnly.

Trusting in him in a way that only a child would, Ruka released her stranglehold on the tree and slipped off her perch. Choking back a startled squeal, Ruka shut her eyes again as she prepared herself for the hard landing.

But it never came.

Instead, a pair of strong arms encircled her before they both tumbled down onto the ground, his body cushioning hers. For a moment, Ruka simply couldn't believe it.

"You caught me," her voice was filled with awe as she stared down at him.

Akatsuki chuckled. "I promised you, didn't I?"

Ruka smiled.

Yes he did.

Years later, she would look back and remember that back then, she thought Akatsuki was a super hero and had trustingly followed him for months after. He would look back and remember the fitting punishment he eventually doled out to Hanabusa.

It was sparked with a jealous-fuelled question.

"Ruka-san, you are close friends with Kain-senpai right?"

The elegant brunette lifted her eyes from the book she was reading only to be confronted with a dozen or so of her fellow female classmates. She bit back a sigh as she took in the determined expressions on their faces. She already knew what they were after and she also knew it wasn't going to go down well.

Though it was only the beginning of the first year of high school, Ruka already knew she wasn't going to make many female friends in this place. Hanabusa and Akatsuki's presence by her side pretty much shot any hopes to pieces.

High school girls are such idiots.

Taking her silence as assent, the elected spokesperson continued. "It's recently come to our attention that Kain-senpai is spending a lot of time with you and you alone. So it is up to us, members of his fan club to determine the exact nature of your relationship with him."

_Fan club. Akatsuki has a fan club?_ For some bizarre reason, that thought both tickled and rankled her at the same time.

"Well?" Impatient, one of the girls prodded her.

If she had any inclination to respond to their query politely to begin with, it all but disappeared. Instead, she closed her book shut, leaned back in her chair and shrugged her shoulders. "Why should I tell you?"

"We are members of Kain-senpai's fan club, we know everything about him. It is our duty to –"

Ruka interrupted. "If you know everything about Akatsuki," she smirked at the way they gaped in dismay at her casual usage of his first name. "Then why do you need to come here and bother me?"

If they were annoyed at her before, they were downright mad at her now.

Frankly, Ruka thought as she pretended to ignore them and study her nails. If they had approached her and asked her politely, she would have told them the truth. Akatsuki and her were nothing more than really close friends. She treated him like family and he looked out for her and Hanabusa like little siblings that he never had. But now, Ruka couldn't resist but goad them a little bit more.

"Very well," the spokesperson said stiffly. "Heed this warning. On St Valentine's Day this year, we, members of Kain-senpai's fan club, are the only students allowed to offer Kain-senpai chocolates." As the girls departed from the room, the spokesperson threw in a parting shot. "Do not attempt to get in our way or there will be retribution."

If there was one thing one should never do, it was to tell Ruka what not to do.

_That's it,_ Ruka thought angrily as she grabbed her books, stood up and stormed out of the room. _Just for that, I'm going to make Akatsuki the biggest and best chocolates he'll ever get._

Years later, she would look back with a smirk and remember how Akatsuki had politely declined all the girls' offers of chocolates. He would look back and laugh at the fact that Hanabusa was furious Akatsuki had won the bet on who would receive the most chocolates despite only accepting one offer.

It bloomed with a kiss.

Ruka didn't know when she stopped looking at Akatsuki as a protector/close friend and more as a young man that gave her butterfly feelings whenever he shot her that warm smile of his. But now that she did, she wasn't sure what she should do with it.

A year on from what Hanabusa now dubbed the infamous "Valentine Chocolate Bonanza" and Akatsuki's popularity, along with his cousin's, had skyrocketed to dizzying heights. Both of them had throngs of girls following them around. But while Hanabusa had thrived under the attention and actively cultivated his followings, Akatsuki avoided the limelight at all cost, hoping that it would somehow dampen his popularity to no avail.

But with his shockingly good looks, unruly red locks and a devil-may-care style of clothing, girls took one look at him and sighed dreamily, believing that he was the ultimate bad boy and therefore the best boyfriend material: all hot and _wild_.

They even gave him a nickname – "Wild kun."

"It can't be helped," Hanabusa declared with pride. "We are just that irresistible."

"Hmmph," Ruka sniffed as she ignored him and tried to concentrate on her studies. The trio was in the library, attempting to get all their homework done before dinner. "I don't see what the big deal is."

"The big deal is that we are popular." Across the table from her, Hanabusa jabbed a finger in her direction. "Say, Akatsuki, why don't we go down to the Dining Hall a bit earlier than usual and do an impromptu meet-and-greet session. We need to keep up appearances and keep our fans enticed."

"No thanks." Ruka could detect weariness in Akatsuki's tone. "I'm kind of sick of girls following me everywhere."

"What?" Hanabusa was incredulous. "Why? Having a fan club that adores you is the best thing about high school. They are sweet and attentive. Name me one bad thing that has happened because of your fans."

"Well," Akatsuki trailed off. Curious as well, Ruka looked up from her homework, only to have her gaze trapped by a pair of amber eyes. "I don't spend as much time as I would like with you. And I miss that."

For some reason, Ruka felt like he was talking to her and her alone.

Hoping she was not blushing, she tore her eyes away and fixed them firmly back on her work. But for the rest of their study session, Ruka found that she couldn't focus at all.

_I miss that too._ Ruka realized with startling clarity.

Sure, the two of them still had a lot of classes together, they always went to meals together and spent a lot of their free times together. But Ruka always found herself wanting more. Akatsuki's fan girls certainly didn't help at all, always butting in inopportune times to offer Akatsuki home-baked cookies or invitations to some club events or worse, confessions of feelings. Ruka almost wanted to put a giant label on Akatsuki that stated blatantly _Mine_.

Ruka shook her head vehemently, shocked at her thoughts.

Did she really think of Akatsuki that way?

Did he think of her that way?

Three nights later, Ruka snapped.

They were accosted by yet another fan girl in the school corridor who blushingly confessed her feelings for Akatsuki. As expected, Akatsuki had declined the girl gently, resulting in the girl bursting into tears and them wasting a good fifteen minutes to calm the girl down.

"I wish they would just stop." Ruka grumbled as the pair finally resumed their walk back to the Dormitory. "Why do you have to act so nice to them all the time?" She complained when the red head remained silent. "If you were just a little bit meaner, they would surely stop with all the confessions."

Akatsuki hummed at her comment. "But don't you think it's a good thing that they were able to express their feelings so clearly. If you had someone you loved, wouldn't you want to tell him?"

Ruka slowed her pace down before coming to a stop. Akatasuki paused as he turned to face her. "Ruka?"

Galvanized by his words, Ruka took the two steps that took her right up to Akatsuki. She tilted her head up to look at him and to this day, she would always remember the myriad of emotions swirling in his eyes. The same emotions that no doubt were reflected in hers too. She reached up to brush her lips against his.

She eventually found out that the girls were right. Akatsuki was indeed the best boyfriend material. Not that she was going to share, of course.

Years later, she would pout at the fact that she had to make the first move. He would laugh, gather her in his arms and kiss her senseless before telling her that he was glad she did.

It was sealed with a vow.

He was wearing a tux. He was even wearing a vest underneath, with a freshly ironed shirt tucked in neatly into his waist and cufflinks. He felt like an idiot playing dress up.

But he wouldn't trade it for the world.

Because for her, he would do just about anything.

Even if the tie around his neck was threatening to choke off his air supply at any moment.

Not that it mattered. Because a moment later, he forgot how to breathe completely.

There she stood, a vision in white, just like the first time they had met. But this time, the white dress she wore glided smoothly down her figure to pool behind her in a long train. Instead of ribbons in her hair, she wore her mother's veil and his grandmother's tiara. What's more, they had both grown up now and realized what they meant to each other.

_Everything._

As she made her way down the aisle towards him, with a bouquet in her hand and tears glistening in her eyes, Akatsuki thought back to all the times they spent together and he thought about how, in a way, it had all culminated to this.

This wasn't the end of their story together, but simply the beginning of a new chapter. A chapter in which she was his and he was hers.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…"

Years later, as she stared down at the beautiful platinum ring and princess cut engagement ring adorning her left ring finger, she knew it was a message. A message that was echoed clearly by the matching band adorning his left ring finger.

_Mine._

Yup, Akatsuki was all hers – and Ruka reckoned that made her the luckiest woman in the world.

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**Author's Note:** This prompt was meant to be a drabble, something short and sweet to start this series off with because I was determined to use "Mine" as the title for this series and the prompt as the summary. Instead, I started writing a long one-shot that really never got anywhere. I left it cause it didn't work, went back to it in frustration, worked on it, left it again, repeated the whole process several times and the story still refused to go anywhere.

A couple of days ago, I threw my hands up in the air, grabbed a pen and paper and started scribbling down whatever came to my head. And this was the result. Not really a drabble either but I enjoyed writing it. I'm so glad it's done and I hope you enjoyed reading it. :)

I'm so uninspired at the moment. So if any of you have any prompts that you would like me to write, please let me know. All pairing are welcomed!

Witless Fool


	2. Belief

**Disclaimer:** Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

**Warning:** Potential spoilers to those who have not reached Chapter 48 in the manga yet.

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**Belief**

**Prompt: **[Placed at the end of the story to avoid any foreshadowing]

Everybody at the Cross Academy loved the weekends.

For the day class students, it was two days of unadulterated bliss in which they can escape from the humdrum lives they had at the academy. There were no lessons to attend. There were no timetables they had to follow. They could do anything they wanted (well, within the school rules, of course). Most importantly, they were able to leave the school grounds and go out into the town.

For the night class students – in particular, Hanabusa Aidou – the weekends held a special meaning. It was the only two days they could enjoy a peaceful rest from dawn to dusk. During the week, there were hordes of fan girls outside the front gates of the Moon Dormitory every morning. And although he appreciated the gestures of adoration, when it was his bedtime, he wished those girls would just keep quiet and let him sleep in peace. Suffice to say, if Hanabusa was up and about during the day, he would be in a bad mood.

And he was currently in a _very_ bad mood.

"Explain to me why we are out here." Hanabusa Aidou yawned as he walked down the main street of the local town. It was four o'clock in the afternoon and here he was, in broad daylight, wide awake and walking among the humans.

Hanabusa glanced to his side and glared at his cousin, Akatsuki Kain. Unlike Hanabusa, whose hands were free and swinging idly by his sides, Akatsuki's were loaded down with heavy shopping bags. Despite his heavy burden, and all the passersby staring at them, the tall redhead seemed unperturbed. His brows were unfurrowed. There was no tightening in his lips. And his shoulders were loose and free of tension.

Having grown up with him, Hanabusa knew this was as relaxed as Akatsuki was ever going to get.

"I asked you if you wanted to come," Akatsuki pointed it out calmly. "And you agreed."

The blonde was grumpy and looking for a fight. "And explain to me why you decided to disturb my sleep and ask that question?"

"Actually, that wasn't my idea," Akatsuki shrugged his broad shoulders. "I was merely the messenger."

"Of course," Hanabusa grumbled. "There's only one would be annoying enough to drag me out of my bed. And speaking of the she-devil."

He nodded his head. Akatsuki followed his line of sight and found Ruka Souen in the crowded street. She was standing in front of a stall stand, perusing through their goods. And judging by the smiling expression on the vendor's face, she wasn't going to walk away empty-handed.

As he watched, Ruka absentmindedly lifted a hand to tuck a few stray strands of her caramel-coloured hair behind her ears as she continued browsing the stall. Looking up, she spotted them and lifted a hand in greeting.

"Ah yes," Hanabusa muttered darkly as the two of them strolled over to where she was. "Now, explain to me why we still hang out with her."

"She's family," Akatsuki said simply.

Hanabusa snorted. "She's a she-devil whose single purpose in life seems to be to irritate me. I want to –" He stopped short when Akatsuki shot him a warning glance.

Wisely, Hanabusa decided to keep his mouth shut.

When they reached Ruka, they discovered she had not one, or two, but four miniature glass statues in her hands. Each one of those hand blown glass figurines were delicate and exquisite to the extreme. Which probably explained the three-figure price tags on them, Hanabusa thought darkly.

"You have way too many of those," He said, shooting Ruka a look of disapproval. "Didn't your parents warn you not to buy anymore of these?"

Ruka trailed a fingertip down the length of the swan's arching neck. "But they're really pretty."

"You already have twelve swan figurines just like it back home," Hanabusa pointed out.

"No I don't," Ruka shook her head for emphasis, causing her shoulder-length hair rippling and swaying. "They're all different."

"Well, yeah, that's how they trick you into buying more," Hanabusa muttered darkly under his breath. That comment received a sharp elbow jab from his redhead cousin.

Sighing, Akatsuki shifted the bags in his hands to lean in closer to the stand and have a look at the figurines in Ruka's hands. "They really are pretty," he offered, almost as a way of explaining her obsession with them.

Ruka nodded but shook her head again. "Hanabusa is right, Mum and Dad probably wouldn't let me buy any more of them." With one last stroke of the fingertip down the swan's neck, Ruka moved to return the figurines back onto the stand.

Akatsuki looked at the price tags again and quickly did the maths in his head. "I'll take them," he told the merchant, who instantly brightened up after looking downcast at the prospect of another lost sale. Ignoring Hanabusa's horrified hiss of his name, Akatsuki carefully set down all the shopping bags onto the ground to retrieve his wallet from his pocket.

"Really?" Ruka looked up at him with hope sparkling in her eyes. The smile she had on her face was alone enough for Akatsuki to justify his purchase. He hasn't seen that smile in a very long time.

"Sure," He shrugged casually as he put his wallet away and accepted the boxed figurines from the vendor. Acting as if it wasn't a big deal, he put the purchases into one of the numerous bags he had in his possession. "If your parents knew they were a gift, even they wouldn't object to you having them, right?"

Ruka stared up at him with an unreadable expression. She opened her mouth to say something before shaking her head. "Thanks," she murmured instead, flashing him another smile. Turning around, she looked up the street and pointed to a store up ahead. "

Hanabusa lagged behind and Akatsuki automatically slowed his pace down to match, knowing that his cousin wanted to have a word with him alone. Sure enough, as soon as Ruka was out of earshot, Hanabusa turned to him with full blast.

"What are you thinking?" Hanabusa was incredulous at Akatsuki's incredible wastefulness of money. While they were of the noble class and their families were fabulously wealthy, their monthly stipend certainly wasn't a bottomless well that can withstand constant raiding. Just yesterday, Ichijou-sama had complained that he had just spent the last of his monthly income on the latest manga magazine – and they were only one week into this month! "I know how much your parents give you each month and it certainly isn't enough to buy all that and survive the next three weeks."

Akatsuki shrugged again. "I'll get by. It's not like I have any major expenditures coming up soon." In truth, this was the first thing he's bought all year. Frugal by nature (perhaps it came naturally after seeing his fellow classmates regularly squander their own allowances), Akatsuki has been saving all his allowances since they've started coming to Cross Academy. However, he wasn't going to tell Hanabusa that. If the blonde knew, he would surely come to Akatsuki whenever he's short of funds.

"Still," Hanabusa grumbled. "I don't see why you have to spend all your money on her. What's she done lately for you?"

The redhead laughed. "You're only saying that because I haven't spent anything on you."

"Not true," Hanabusa argued, his ears twitched – a sure sign that he was lying. "I'm just looking out for you. She's annoying, bossy, refuses to accept when she's wrong. And she takes advantage of us all the time."

"She's family, Hanabusa."

"Still doesn't mean we have to love her." Hanabusa remained steadfast in his conviction.

"Akatsuki?" Ahead, Ruka turned around and looked back at them. "What's taking you guys so long?"

"Coming," he answered, lengthening his stride to catch up to her. No, Hanabusa was right. Just because she's family doesn't mean they had to love her. But he has had no say in that matter for a very long time now. Looking out for her had already become a second nature for him.

_To love means loving the unlovable._

The trio entered the small ice-cream shop, welcoming the respite from the sunshine outside. Once their eyesight had adjusted to the dim interior lighting, Hanabusa immediately made a beeline to the front counter, muttering under his breath that if Akatsuki was going to splurge thousands of dollars for Ruka's stupid glass figuring collection, the least he could do was treat him to some ice-cream. Muffling his laughter, Akatsuki gestered to a booth tucked away in the back corner of the store.

"Let's sit there."

Nodding, Ruka quietly followed him.

"I'm not sure Hanabusa would remember to get anything for us," he remarked, keeping the conversation light. "What would you like?"

"I'm fine." Ruka slid into the booth seat and set about arranging her ruffled skirt neatly around her.

She wasn't. Akatsuki could tell. Underneath her carefully applied makeup, he knew her skin was pale and cool. It's been two days since the incident and still, she was pale, lethargic and out of breath even with a minimal dose of exercise. He also knew she hadn't been sleeping well at nights, as evident by the occasional yawns that slipped out before she could properly disguise them.

"Please."

Startled by his quiet request, Ruka's eyes flew up to meet his. Hers bewildered, his knowing. They stared at each other for a long telling moment. He knew she knew he was the one who returned her to her room that night.

"Aren't you going to preach?" She said.

"No."

Staring down at the table top, she played with the napkin dispenser. "You know what I've done. It bothers you, I know."

Akatsuki stayed quiet, staring down at her bowed head. He wanted to know what thoughts were on her mind at the moment. But they were no longer the kids they used to be. Ruka no longer confided in him. Instead, everything was hidden behind troubled eyes and averted gazes.

"I'm not sorry," she confessed, her voice small and quiet. "But please don't be mad at me."

When faced with Ruka and her vulnerability, Akatsuki found that there was no anger or resentment. He had never been logical when it came to Ruka and he didn't expect himself to start now. He reached down to cover her hands with one of his.

Stilling her nervous movements, he silently conveyed that everything was okay. And if it wasn't, he would make it so.

_To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable._

"What are you guys talking about?" Hanabusa asked as he joined them at the table. He was loaded down with a family-sized banana split sundae and strawberry milkshake. His sweet tooth is one of the few vices for this blonde child prodigy.

Akatsuki held onto Ruka's hands for a moment longer before letting go and stepping back. "Nothing important. Ruka, what would you like?"

"Nothing," she muttered as she got up from the table. "I'm going to go get some fresh air."

With that, she walked out of the store without a backward glance.

"Geez," Hanabusa commented as he popped a big spoonful of sundae into his mouth. "What's up with her? It was her idea to come in here in the first place."

"Nothing," Akatsuki said, running a frustrated hand through his red locks. "She's going through a rough patch at the moment. Can we just let her have it her way today?"

"Don't we always?" Hanabusa glowered up at him over the rim of his milkshake.

Akatsuki sighed, wishing his cousin would grow up and be mature for just a moment.

"Yeah, yeah," Hanabusa waved him away. "I'll play nice for now. Go get her back and make sure she eats something. This truce only lasts until she gets better, alright?"

Akatsuki could only stare down at his cousin in amazement.

"Don't think I don't know," Hanabusa shot him a look. "You care for her. Have for a long time. Why else would you always side with her side of any argument?"

"Now pay up," Hanabusa gestured to his food before holding out a hand.

And the moment was gone. Akatsuki chuckled as he handed over a couple of notes.

"Here," Akatsuki dropped all the bags down onto the empty seat next to Hanabusa. "Look after these until we get back."

"What?" Hanabusa sat up straight and shot an incredulous look at his cousin. "No way. Take those stuff with you!"

"Why?" Akatsuki shot him an incredulous look. "You are going to be sitting here and eat your food. Food, I might add, that I bought."

"Akatsuki," Hanabusa grabbed his cousin's hand and dragged him down to eye-level with him. "Haven't you noticed none of the human girls have approached you today?"

"No," Akatsuki commented dryly. It really wasn't something he thought or cared about.

"It's because you are carrying Ruka's shopping." Hanabusa jabbed at the aforementioned bags. "When other girls see that, it's as loud and clear as any wedding band. They see commitment and relationship and another girl's claws all over you."

Bemused, Akatsuki did what he was told.

"Good luck." Akatsuki turned to see Hanabusa giving him a small smile of encouragement. "I have faith in you two."

Akatsuki shrugged, internally fighting to keep a small smile at bay, as he followed Ruka outside.

_Faith means believing the unbelievable._

Stepping back outside, Akatsuki immediately spotted Ruka. The girl hadn't walked off too far. She was sitting down on one of the benches by the road. With the scenic backdrop of the quaint village behind her, Ruka looked as pretty as a picture. She always had but this picture… Akatsuki paused as he studied her from afar. This picture looked lonely and hopeless.

Wordlessly, Akatsuki dropped down onto the bench next to her and waited. He had learnt from a very young age that one had to be patient with Ruka. There was no point in prodding her with questions. Ruka would open up once she's ready.

The cool façade will eventually break down.

"He hates me," were the first thing Ruka said before she flung herself into Akatsuki's unprepared arms. Automatically, on their own accord, his arms enclosed around Ruka's small frame. "He hasn't spoken a single word to me since then, no matter how many times I've approached him. Is it me? I just –" She broke off, suddenly becoming quiet and stiff with only the slight dampening of Akatsuki's shirt being evidence for her tears.

Akatsuki remained silent as his heart broke for her. He wanted, above nothing else, for Ruka's happiness. And to see her reduced to this made him feel helpless inside. But at the same time, there was a deep sense of anger – strong enough that he almost felt compelled to go and hunt down whatever it was that hurt Ruka. He had already fired a warning off to Kanama-sama. While other Level B vampires, especially Hanabusa, would be aghast and incredulous at his audacity. He felt no remorse or fear over his actions and even now, especially now, he stood by them.

A short while later, the flow of her tears slowed and then stopped. "You probably think I'm pathetic," Ruka said as she pushed herself out of his arms. The cool façade was slowly being set back in place.

"Not at all."

"Really?" Her tone showed her scepticism.

Akatsuki smiled at her. "I wouldn't lie to you, Ruka." Never to you.

Not when, out of all the people, I'm probably the only one who understand you exactly as you are. Not when we share the same joy and sorrow. Of being able to be so close to the one we love yet for that love to always be unrequited.

Not when you are the single most important person to me.

Ruka nodded slowly before breaking out into a small smile. "Okay then, I believe you."

"Now, how about some ice-cream? I'm going to kill Hanabusa if he managed to finish that sundae without us."

Ruka's laughter rang through the air as she let herself be tugged back down the path to the ice-cream store.

Yes, Akatsuki thought, in a way, Hanabusa had been right. Just because Ruka was family doesn't necessarily mean Akatsuki had to love her. But as they sat there, sharing a quiet moment with each other. Akatsuki knew he wouldn't have it any other way. Although his feelings were unreturned, as long as Ruka was happy, he would also be happy. His joy depended on hers.

And for now, that was enough.

_Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless._

* * *

**Prompt:**

To love means loving the unlovable. To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable. Faith means believing the unbelievable. Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.

~ Gilbert K. Chesterson

**Author's Note: **Inspired by the fanbook, which states Akatsubki's hobbies were taking care of Aidou and Ruka and on his day off, he enjoys spending time carrying the things that Ruka buys. :D

Also, in the manga, Ruka's hair was shorter back then. So that's how I depicted it.

Even now, just before submitting, I still have misgivings over this one. I don't know why. Is it because everything seems ambiguous and you would have had to read the manga to understand what on earth I'm implying about? Or is it because I feel it's too similar to Carpe Diem? *sigh* I really don't know. But it's down on paper and out of my mind. The story can stop bugging me now. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.

Next up, **Winterwing3000**'s prompt: "Can't say goodbye to what is mine" + fluff-themed.

Until next time,

Witless Fool


	3. Our Promise

**Disclaimer:** Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

**Author's Note:** Thanks to Winterwing3000 for this prompt. :) If you guys haven't checked out her works yet, please do. You won't be disappointed!

* * *

**Our Promise**

**Prompt: **Can't say what's goodbye to what is mine (fluff-themed)

** Setting:** AU. A bit of OOC from Ruka forewarned. Though to be fair, five year olds are hyperactive, right?

His call went straight to her voicemail.

"Hi, this is Ruka. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now, please leave a message – "

With a muffled curse, Akatsuki snapped his phone shut.

"She'll come," Hanabusa said for the umpteenth time. It was slightly disconcerting to see the two of them having a role reversal. He was the one trying to rein in his emotions while his blonde cousin was the mature one trying to keep him calm. "She knows how important this is to you."

"Yeah," Akatsuki breathed out a sigh as he wearily sat down next to his cousin. His back protested as he leaned back. The plastic benches in the airport terminal that they were in were hard, unyielding and unforgiving to his tall frame.

Ruka knows. She always knows.

To spend a year in the United States – it was the chance of a lifetime. Sure, they were all raised with a silver spoon in their mouth. But this was more than just a year-long prepaid study abroad. Akatsuki was going to spend a year studying under the tutelage of last year's Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction. It was his chance to finally embark on his journey to become a writer, something that Akatsuki had wanted ever since he was little. He, with his calm and pensive persona, had always been a dreamer. It was time for him to start making those dreams happen.

"So, any plans for what you will do when you land?" Hanabusa asked, hoping to distract him.

The redhead's broad shoulders moved up and then down. "The semester doesn't start until next Monday so I'll have a week to settle in and get all the paperwork sorted. But beyond that…" He groaned in frustration as he tried to picture himself going out and seeing the city. What would he do? Where would he even start? "This is why I've never travelled on my own before. I could always rely on you and Ruka to plan our trips."

At the mention of her name, he swallowed and glanced over at the escalators again.

Ruka had been so excited for him when he got the offer. She knew it had always been his dream. Hell, she was the one who prodded him into writing the competition piece in the first place. And when he was too unsure of himself to enter it, she had posted it off behind his back. Then, when he got the offer, she was the first one to congratulate him with pride sparkling in her eyes, even though she knew it would mean temporary separation between the pair of them.

However, the last few days hadn't gone down so well. No matter how much she tried to stay upbeat and cheerful for him, he saw through the cracks. How could he not? They had grown up together. There was nothing about her that he didn't know. And despite her best attempts to hide it, he knew she was struggling with the concept of not being with him for a whole year.

Hanabusa sighed as he followed his cousin's gaze to the terminal entrance. The three of them had grown up together, meaning he knew both his best friends inside out. Though rare, he's seen that look on Akatsuki's face before. The usually calm and collected redhead was clearly not at ease, with traces of agitation bubbling underneath his outward appearance. If Ruka didn't show up soon, Hanabsua wasn't so sure Akatsuki would even go through with this trip.

But as soon as it arose, Hanabusa quickly banished it from his mind. There was no way Ruka would do that to Akatsuki.

"Sorry! Hit a bit of a traffic jam. We thought we weren't going to make it!" A cheery voice rang out through the terminal.

Both boys lifted their heads to the source of the voice to discover Takuma Ichijou waving at them madly as he made his way over. Now that boarding was about to start any minute, the terminal was abuzz with departing passengers and their loved ones. Not that it deterred the ever cheerful blonde as he barged his way through the crowd as if they weren't there, leaving Rima Toya and Senri Shiki to mutter apologies in his wake.

"Hey," Akatsuki greeted as he stood up. "Glad you could make it."

"Here." A man of few words, Shiki took Akatsuki's hand and dropped something into it. Looking down, Akatsuki discovered a box of pocky sticks.

"For the flight," Rima chimed in helpfully.

Akatsuki chuckled as he stowed it away inside his jacket. "Thanks, guys."

From those two, a box of Pocky really meant a lot.

"So where's Ruka?" Ichijou asked as he looked around. "Did she duck out for the lady's room? Or something to eat?" He trailed off when he realized the downcast look on his friend's face and the murderous glare that Hanabusa was giving him. "Oh."

The group fell into a state of awkward silence.

"You know what," Akatsuki bent down to retrieve his duffel bag. "I'm going to go outside and try calling her again."

"But you can't," Hanabusa protested. "They are going to start calling passengers to board any minute now."

Akatsuki could only shake his head determinedly as he pulled out his cell phone. But just as he was about to hit speed-dial, his phone started crooning out "So Long" by Randy Newman.

Without a thought, Akatsuki flipped his phone open while shooting a glare over to his cousin.

"Akatsuki?" Her voice, small and familiar, rang clear through the phone.

Relief flooded through his body, making him feel momentarily light-headed. With his phone still attached to his ear, he glanced around the terminal, trying to find her face in the crowd of strangers.

"I just wanted to apologize," Ruka continued talking quietly.

"It's okay," he replied quickly, still glancing around, looking for her. "I know it's been tough the last couple of days but sweetheart, where are you –"

"I can't," she interrupted forcefully. Stopping herself mid-sentence, Akatsuki could hear Ruka take a small shallow breath as she continued talking. "I can't see you right now."

Icy water quickly doused into his veins. "Ruka?"

"I just can't," her small steady voice quickly derailed into short shallow gasps. "I can't say goodbye. I promised. It was our promise."

"Ruka." He repeated, gentleness seeping into his tone as fear slowly faded. She wasn't leaving him. That was a good sign.

"Remember when we first met?" She asked. "The little play date at Hanabusa's house?"

He could feel his lips turn up into a smile. "You made quite an impression." She still did, in fact.

For that, he received an unlady-like snort. "No thanks to Hanabusa." Ruka grumbled. "He almost ruined my chances 10 years before we even started going out."

For that, she received a heartfelt chuckle.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Flight QF135 is now ready for boarding. We are now welcoming all first and business class passengers to come to the boarding desk –"

"Akatsuki," Hanabusa warned as he handed over Akatsuki's duffel bag and boarding pass.

Glancing down at it and thinking about the girl at the other end of the phone line, Akatsuki offered to Ruka. "You know what –"

"Oh don't you dare!" Ruka interrupted him before he could even start. "You are going to board that flight and go to America and follow your dreams. I don't want to be the one who held you back. But I can't say goodbye. I just can't. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Ruka," he started talking only to be met with the repeated sound of the dial tone. Snapping his phone shut, he sighed as he turned to face his concerned friends.

"It's okay." He reassured them.

They didn't look convinced but didn't push, knowing it wasn't their place to do so.

"Of course it is!" Ichijou exclaimed as he stepped forward to pat the taller guy on the back. "It's you and Ruka. If this crazy blonde cousin of yours couldn't stop you two from getting together, then nothing would be able to tear you guys apart."

Behind him, Rima and Shiki nodded their heads in agreement. When Hanabusa tried to voice his protests for being painted as the evil villain, Rima discretely jabbed him in the stomach.

"Yeah," Akatsuki murmured as he glanced down at his phone again.

But he couldn't help wishing that Ruka's last words to him weren't an apology.

* * *

Throughout the flight, Akatsuki had nothing but his memories and his tattered notebook to keep him company. He wasn't in the mood for any of the flight entertainment on the screen in front of him and despite repeated offers by the pretty blonde flight attendant, he didn't think alcohol was going to drown out the thoughts in his mind. Ruka's words kept replaying over and over again.

_I can't say goodbye. I promised. It was our promise._

Deep in thought, Akatsuki flipped open to a blank page and started scribbling down his thoughts as they came.

Their first play date at Hanabusa's house, she had said. He remembered that day well.

It wasn't his first visit there. Being cousins and born within months of each other, they were always at each other's house. He distinctively remembered referring back to that period of their childhood as their parents' excuse of taking shifts in looking after the pair of them. It should have been like any other day. But from the moment he stepped into his cousin's room, he knew something was wrong.

Because Hanabusa was not reading a university textbook. Or disassembling an electronic item. Or playing around with his chemistry set.

Although, he stared at Hanabusa as he ran around the room, Akatsuki wasn't sure exactly what he was doing.

"You sure you don't want something to drink?" The flight attendant was back, smiling and batting her baby blue eyes down at him. "We have a huge selection on board." If she thought it made her look more appealing to him, it didn't.

For the second time within 24 hours, Akatsuki wished he wasn't alone. Ichijou would have happily leapt in, catch the flight attendant's attention and flirt with her for the rest of the flight. Hanabusa would have looked up, found the flight attendant's mind wanting, and proceed to reduce her into confusion with some long complicated rant about current research in the sciences. Ruka would have (and had done so on numerous occasions in the past) scared the woman into leaving with her famous ice-queen glare or, her new tactic more recently, wrapped her arms around his waist and curled into his side to mark her territory.

But none of them were here. So the best Akatsuki could do was politely shake his head, return his attention back to the pages in front of him and fervently hope that this was the last time she'll bother him.

That day, all those years ago, it turned out that Hanabusa was in the process of hiding his items. Despite his incredibly high IQ, the five-year-old had ridiculously bad organizational skills and his method of "hiding his possessions" consisted of him chucking random items into the cupboard, or study desk drawers or wardrobe – whichever storage space was situated the closest really. When he questioned Hanabusa's method of madness, Akatsuki received a quick run-down of the impending doom.

"She is coming," was the first thing out of Hanabusa's mouth. As if those three words were suffice in explanation. When Akatsuki remained visibly confused, Hanabusa heaved a sigh as he continued explaining as he chucked more of his items into the cupboard behind him. "I don't know why Mum started inviting her to visit. She's small, loud and _a girl_!" That last bit was said with the typical scowl of disgust of a five-year old boy.

"What's more," Hanabusa continued as he moved over to his desk and started rummaging through the pile of pens scattered across its surface. Picking up several, he pulled open a drawer and dropped them in there. "She keeps taking my stuff! Th-That's stealing!" He pouted at that thought. "I can't argue with her. Or fight against her. Because Mum always, always just laughs and takes her side. It's not fair. So," he said triumphantly as he stepped away from his desk. "I'm resorting to hiding stuff."

"What stuff?"

"The red stuff," was the answer. Apparently, it was really obvious.

The two boys stared at each other from across the room before a look of horror dawned on the blonde's face.

"You're red."

"Dinner, sir," The blonde flight attendant was back, jolting Akatsuki out of his thoughts. Sighing, he pushed his notebook onto one side as the flight attendant began setting up his dinner for him. He wasn't really hungry but figured he might as well eat. The flight was long and he had a layover in New York before he catches a second flight into Seattle.

"Thanks," he murmured as he took the hot towel off the tray to wipe his hands with.

Visibly disappointed, the flight attendant moved on to serve the next row of passengers. But Akatsuki didn't notice. By the time his hands were clean and he had taken the first bite of the steamed trout, his mind had already wandered back into the past.

The object of Hanabusa's fear turned out to a little girl.

Even looking at her with the inexperienced eyes of a five year old, Akatsuki found her pretty. Dressed in a cream jumper and yellow petticoat, she was as pretty as a picture. She was all hazel eyes and chestnut curls. She stood by the open doorway and let her eyes wander all over the room. When her wandering eyes landed on him, her smile, which was already threatening to take over her entire face, grew even bigger.

"Hi!" She chirped as she bounded over to where he stood.

"Uh," Akatsuki darted a glanced over at Hanabusa, who was still standing frozen by his desk. "Hi."

Her smile never wavered. "I'm Ruka."

It was impossible not to smile back at her. "Akatsuki."

Before Akatsuki could figure out how she did it, Ruka had stepped forward and put her small hand in his. It was strange though. He didn't feel uncomfortable like he did when his parents made him play with other children and they latched onto his hand. This felt, he thought about it for a moment, nice.

That small movement seemed to jolt Hanabusa out of the frozen state he was in.

"Hey," he protested as he marched over. "He's my friend. Not yours."

Like a light bulb switching off at the press of a button, Ruka's sunny smile disappeared. She frowned as she turned her head to Hanabusa. "Mine."

"He's my cousin." From past experience, Akatsuki knew Hanabusa could be stubborn if he wanted to.

"So? He can be my friend now." So was Ruka, it would seem.

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Deciding to step in before it escalated any further, Akatsuki interrupted the fight. "I can have more than one friend. Can't I?" Taking advantage of his height (even at that age), he stared down at the two of them until they both nodded glumly in agreement. Though he had just met Ruka, Akatsuki had a feeling that this wasn't the first time Hanabusa and her clashed and that their previous fights weren't pretty. "Anyway, why don't we go down to the kitchen? I'm sure there will be some cakes and tea there for us."

At the prospect of satisfying his sweet tooth, Hanabusa brightened up again and led the way. Every now and then, he would cast suspicious eyes behind him at the pair of them, as if he suspected that Ruka was going to steal Akatsuki away from him. It was only after the tenth head check from Hanabusa that Akatsuki realised his hand was still captured by Ruka's.

"Uh," Akatsuki gave their joint hands a little tug. "You going to let go soon?" It was nice, he decided, holding hands with her. But he had only met the girl two minutes ago. He wasn't sure what to make of her yet.

"Nope," she beamed up at him as she practically had to jog to keep up with his long strides and Hanabusa's eager steps towards the kitchen. "You're my friend now. I'm not letting go."

"Is that a promise?" He couldn't help smiling back at her. Ruka was a strange little girl but she seemed harmless.

"Yup." She nodded. "I never let go of what's mine. And you're mine. Not Hanabusa's." She added the last bit under her breath.

He squeezed her hand in mild reproach. "What makes me yours?" He wanted to know.

"You're red." As if it was obvious.

With dinner finished and cleared away, Akatsuki reopened his notebook and dove back into writing.

It was that afternoon that he discovered truly how serious Ruka's promise was. True to her words, Ruka didn't let go of him all throughout that afternoon, much to Hanabusa's annoyance and his own discomfort. It certainly made drinking tea and eating cakes rather difficult as she had captured his dominant right hand.

And at the end of the play date, when their parents had come to collect them, she was still refusing to let go of his hand. She was scared that if she let go, he might not want to be hers anymore and they would have to say goodbye.

"Don't think of it as goodbye, sweetheart," her mother tried to convince her. "You two are still friends. You can see each other any day you want. Now, say bye to Aka –" Her mother winced at the accidental slip of the tongue.

"But I don't to say goodbye." Ruka, who had been sunny all afternoon, now looked like she was about to burst into tears.

"So we won't." Akatsuki offered, his hand still tucked securely in hers.

"We won't say goodbye?" Ruka repeated slowly, her eyes wet from tears yet to be spilt.

Akatsuki nodded.

"Promise?"

"It's a promise."

Abruptly jerking into the present moment, Akatsuki pressed his pen down onto the page and paused. Was that what she meant? She was keeping their promise. If she meant what he thinks she meant, then…

Without even finishing that thought, Akatsuki unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up from his seat. Glancing around the small cabin of the first class, he could only see a couple of businessmen on their laptops or asleep. Of course, Ruka wouldn't make it this easy.

He strode down the aisle and through the partition into business class. It was slightly more crowded but still no sign of the brunette. Economy class was pure chaos and even then, Akatsuki didn't manage to find her. He went back and double checked. Twice.

Dumbfounded, Akatsuki returned back to his seat. Did he misinterpret Ruka's words? He was so sure that her not saying goodbye meant she was here. With him.

His right hand felt strangely bereft of something.

* * *

Despite not finding Ruka on the flight with him, Akatsuki still couldn't shake off the conviction that Ruka had followed him across the Atlantic. With eight hours stuck in JFK, he took to roaming the large busy airport. He searched for her in every face he saw but to no avail. Even on the flight to Seattle, he searched the cabin for her with no luck. By nightfall and in Seattle, he was close to admitting defeat.

It was only when he exited Sea-Tac Airport and climbed into a cab that he allowed himself to think that perhaps the reason he clung so fiercely to the belief that she had followed him was because he wanted her to be here with him. She wasn't the only one who made that promise that day, fifteen years ago.

Sure, it had taken him another ten years to realize Ruka was no longer the strange little girl he first met. She had grown taller, though she was still a head shorter than his towering 1.88m. Her brown curls, which used to shape her heart-shaped face, had lengthened to cascade down to her lower back. Her body had … well… even now, Akatsuki flushed as he thought back to the day he first realized Ruka had grown curves.

But there were something that didn't change. Her eyes still dominated her face and captured his attention. And though she had perfected her ice-queen persona that she showed the outside world, her smile was still sunny when she was looking only at him. The pair of them still shared everything with each other. It was them against the world. That feeling never faded and never changed.

It took another couple of months for him to pluck up the courage to ask her out and despite much persuasion, bribery and eventually blackmail from Hanabusa for him to think twice, Akatsuki hadn't looked back once. On some level, Akatsuki had known from the first day that when Ruka said she wasn't letting go of what was hers, she was being completely and utterly serious.

Outside the window, the beautiful scenery of Seattle flew by unnoticed by the pensive redhead.

He should have asked her to come with him, Akatsuki thought as he slid the key in and entered into the apartment that he would be calling home for the next year. Why was it only now, when facing the prospect of 12 months without her, that he realized he needed her beside him?

Leaving his suitcase in the living room, he made his way towards the bedroom. It was late. He'll unpack and settle in tomorrow morning.

He froze.

Because sitting on the bed was the person who had been haunting his waking thoughts ever since he left Heathrow.

He couldn't be more in love with her than right at this moment.

"Hi," she smiled up nervously at him. It wasn't the bright beaming smile that she usually reserved for him but in his eyes, it still shone.

"You – you're here." Akatsuki said slowly, as if he was still in disbelief. He took a step into the room. Then another. And another. Before long, he was standing in front of her, gazing down at her with indecipherable feelings swirling behind his eyes. "You're actually here with me."

"Yes." Ruka bit her lips. "I'm sorry. I know this is important to you and I want you to succeed and strike it on your own, but I couldn't stand not being with you. I'm so –"

The rest of her words were lost as Akatsuki knelt down and pulled her into his arms. Blindly, their lips found each other, clashed and then clung to one another as both of them tried to convey their feelings in that kiss. Relief. Gratefulness. And above all, love. It was the two of them again. Just them. Akatsuki and Ruka. Ruka and Akatsuki.

The way it should be.

When breathing became necessary, Akatsuki reluctantly drew back and stared at her. "How?"

Still breathless and looking thoroughly kissed, Ruka flushed underneath his scrutiny. "I was the one who booked your flight, remember? I took a later flight but had a shorter layover."

Akatsuki chuckled as he settled down on the bed next to her. Unwilling to let go of her just yet but exhausted from two days of travel, he laid down onto the bed and drew her down with him. "I love you." He said simply as he tucked her into his side.

"Good." There was satisfaction in her voice as she snuggled in. "Because I'm not letting you go."

"Is that a promise?"

"Our promise." Ruka agreed before a yawn escaped. "I love you, you know."

"Good." Akatsuki pressed a light kiss to the crown of her head. He closed his eyes. He was still wearing the clothes he wore on the plane. He should really get up and change. Plus, it wasn't proper for them to share a bedroom yet. Chivalry dictated that he take the couch. But this was so comfortable. And Ruka was here. Akatsuki couldn't quite get himself to move.

Just before his mind was lulled into sleep, a final thought came to him. "I guess I better marry you then."

Half-asleep herself, Ruka hummed in agreeable assent.

* * *

**Author's Note:** You know you've left a fandom for too long when you had to refer back to the manga for Ichijou's name. :P Sorry for the delay guys.

And well, Wing, hope you liked this one. When I first saw the prompt, all I could think of were sad or bittersweet drabbles. In my head, the word "goodbye" has so many sad connotations to it. Then I saw that you wanted fluff. Took me a few days to turn around my way of thinking regarding the prompt but I really like how this turned out. Thanks for the prompt.

Coming up (This one's a doozy from Lushard):

Words: Rain. Drawn. Light.

Prompt: Post-83 multi-chapter depiction of a bittersweet relationship with lots of angst.


	4. Sunshower Part I: Broken

**Disclaimer:** Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

**Potential spoiler alert:** This story is set post-83 so if you haven't reached that bit of the manga yet and don't want spoilers, then don't read ahead.

**Author's Note:** This prompt is courtesy of Lushard!

* * *

**Sunshower Part I: Broken**

**Prompt:** Rain. Drawn. Light. Post-83 angst/bittersweet

_Sunshower:_ A meteorological phenomenon in which rain falls while the sun is shining. These conditions often lead to the appearance of a rainbow. [Source: Wikipedia]

* * *

The ground shook. The walls shuddered. The pillars splintered and the windows cracked.

All around them, the world was going to hell.

He couldn't have cared less.

Not when she was lying in his arms, pale and still. Stray strands of her chestnut bangs fluttered to the rhythm of her shallow breaths. Her left hand was still weakly grasping the front of his shirt even as her mind slipped into a deep healing sleep.

He braced his legs as the ground shook for a second time, his eyes refusing to leave her face. She looked so pale.

Ruka should never be this pale. This withdrawn. This solemn.

She was going to be okay. She just had to be.

Because if she wasn't, no amount of Kaname's blood was going to gain his forgiveness.

Akatsuki had warned him before and he had meant it. His loyalty was pure, deep and cannot be doubted. But it relied on the safety and happiness of Ruka. Even now, looking down at her broken form, it took all of his remaining self-control not to scorch the ground they stood on with rage.

The ground shook again, with more violence than before. It took him a moment or so to realise it wasn't just himself shaking with anger. Lifting his head, Akatsuki saw a bright light shoot out from inside the Headquarter of the Vampire Hunters. The air around them literally crackled with energy and heat, full of urgency and hunger. Cries of alarm could be heard from the hunters inside the building.

Turning his gaze back down to the girl lying in his arms, Akatsuki bent down to press his cheek against her forehead. He sighed. A lifetime of memories flashed by in his mind with Ruka being in almost all of it. There was so much he had wished for her but she had made her decision a long time ago. Did she know, when she chose to walk down this path, that it wasn't just her fate she had signed off on?

With her head nestled on his shoulder, Akatsuki tightened his grip on Ruka and took off towards the safety of the forest. Ruka had made her choice a long time ago and so had he. He was going to stay with her no matter what. As long as she was happy, he would be okay. The anguish and scars that he endured in the process did not matter. Only she did.

Whatever was going on inside the building was no longer his concern. Purebloods. Vampire Hunters. They could continue fighting for all he cared. And they probably will. They have been fighting since the dawn of the vampires. Why would they stop now? They would keep fighting until the battle loses all meaning and the combatants lose their purpose. All Akatsuki knew was that he was no longer going to be a willing participant of it all.

He was finally going to take a stance, walk down his own path and damn the consequences.

Because when it comes right down to it, Akatsuki no longer cared.

* * *

She knew she was dreaming. But it was a nightmare from which she could not escape.

Having never drunk real blood before, let along that of a pureblood, Ruka could only guess that what she was seeing, what she was experiencing, were manifestations from it. Were they Yuuki-sama's memories? Or her own imagination?

She was alone, so alone. She was crouching in the corner of a room with her arms around her knees and her head buried in between the circle of her arms. As if by making herself smaller, she could keep herself safe from the dangers of the outside world. Fear and adrenaline was pumping through her veins and she could smell blood in the air. But it was not just any sort of blood. It was a familiar scent. A blood from which she had been raised up drinking.

"F-father?" The word tumbled out of her mouth before she realized. The voice belonging to that of a small frightened child. Shaking her head, wisps of long black hair fell in front of her eyes.

If anything, the realisation that she was stuck in the mind of a young Yuuki-sama made her fear escalate even higher.

All of a sudden, the door creaked open and a sliver of light filtered into the room, giving her the chance to look at her surroundings. The walls were painted in a rich burgundy colour and the carpets were in the shade of royal blue. The room was lavishly decorated with mahogany furniture, antique statues and decorate artworks. There were no windows in the room and the stale air she was breathing in indicated that they were below ground.

Lost in her own scrambled thoughts as she tried to make sense of the situation, Ruka didn't notice the new presence in the room until she was enveloped in a warm motherly embrace. Oh thank god, her mother was here with her. Even if she was a figment of Ruka's imagination, at least her mother will make this situation a little less scary.

That was, until more locks of black curls fell around her.

"Mother," more frightened words escaped from her mouth. "Where's father."

There was a soothing reply but the words failed to filter through. All she could sense was the lady's grip on her tightening.

And the feeling of something wet sliding down the front of her clothes.

She glanced down.

It was blood. There was so much blood there.

"Mo…ther?"

Then nothing.

She awoke to a landscape of white.

For a moment, a rush of relief flooded through her as Ruka thought she had awoken and was free from the nightmare down in the basement. She was herself again, as attested by her clothing and the colouring of her hair. Looking around, she found herself standing on a field of snow. In the clothes she was wearing, she should be freezing. But she wasn't. Physically, that is.

But nothing could stop the chill that was slowly sinking down into her bones.

This was not an escape, merely a continuation of the nightmare.

All around her, there was nothing but silence. But the idyllic scene in front of her was thick with a sense of danger and anticipation. Something was waiting to happen.

There, about twenty paces in front of her sat a small child, all wrapped up in white as if to camouflage herself into the landscape. The little girl looked puzzled as she held her gloved hands out to catch the falling snow.

But what was Yuuki-sama doing out here in the cold?

"Are you lost, little girl?" A level E vampire suddenly materialized in front of them, his eyes glowing red with bloodlust. "If that's the case, then can I drink your blood?"

Without warning, he swooped down and bent the child's head back to expose her neck.

"No!" Ruka stepped forward, wanting to stop him. Her heart caught in her throat as she stared with horror at the events unfolding in front of her. "You can't!"

But before she could do anything, the vampire was yanked back and with a scream, shattered into dust.

"It's you," she held her breath as she looked at him. At the two of them. Really, she shouldn't be surprised. It has always been the two of them. They have each other. In darkness and in light. Even when facing insurmountable odds, they would always have each other.

A sense of calm settled down over her as she continued looking at the pair of young Kurans.

They'll be alright. As long as they have each other.

But they don't though, Ruka thought sadly as the young Kaname bent down to help Yuuki to her feet. To him, she was nothing but a hindrance now. An obstacle that stood between him and his ultimate goal.

_Don't be like this, Ruka, let go of him._

Unexpectedly, Akatsuki's familiar voice came to her and enveloped her in a sense of familiarity and safety. Turning around, Ruka saw that mop of unruly red hair in the distance, his tall figure standing there, waiting, always waiting for her to come back to him.

Without hesitation, she started running towards him. The need for something that she knew, something that was hers, in this world of madness was overwhelming. Did she dream him up? Or was he really here, with her?

It doesn't matter, she decided as she continued running towards him. Of course he was here. He was always there for her.

_Ruka, so set yourself free._

Glancing back over her shoulder, she saw that both Kurans were looking at her. She frowned as she thought back to those words. They sounded so familiar as if Yuuki had said those words to her.

_The road ends here…_

Her gaze shifted to the other Kuran but before she could figure out what he was saying, she stumbled as pain shot through her system and overwhelmed her thoughts. She collapsed face down onto the snowy ground beneath her. Oh it burnt. Like wrathful fire and unforgivable ice at the same time. Her vision blurred as she rolled over onto her back, clutching at her side with agony. She wanted to scream but could not find her voice. Bile rose up in her throat as the pain, and her blood, continued spilling out. It took everything for her not to throw up right then and there.

A delirious part of her wondered if she could actually throw up in a nightmare.

But before she could ponder over that thought too much, fire shot out from behind her.

_Even now, Ruka refuses to get angry with you. But I'm different._

"Stop, both of you stop!" She wanted to shout but nothing came out of her voice. Then, even thinking about that became too much. She was growing weaker, she could tell, and the pain was relentless.

She was so alone. And so scared.

She woke up screaming.

Her screams died down to whimpers as familiar arms encircled her and lifted her up into a sitting position. To her right, she could feel and hear the steady rhythm of a familiar heart beating away, albeit a bit faster than she remembered. Safe at last, she sobbed as she twisted herself around so that she could burrow herself into his embrace and press her ear closer to his heart. She was awake. Oh thank goodness she had escaped from that nightmare.

"Don't go," the words came spilling out of her mouth without meaning. But as soon as the words reached her ears, she recognized them and understood why she uttered them. "Don't go again. Don't leave me alone."

"I'm here." His voice filtered through the fog of fear and confusion. It rumbled through his chest and enveloped her as surely as his arms were around her waist. It was soothing and familiar and just what she needed. "You are not alone. You are never alone. I've always been here."

Slowly, their surroundings filtered through into her consciousness. The two of them were on a big four-poster bed, which dipped as he shifted the two of them until his back was leaning against the headboard and she was more securely located on his lap. With her head still burrowed in the safety of his arms, Ruka blearily opened her tear-filled eyes, wincing slightly at the sunlight that filtered into the room from between the folds of curtain.

It was a familiar room, with its cream coloured walls and soft fluffy white carpets. Childhood mementos and glass figurines were set out neatly on the bedside table next to the bed as well as the dresser by the window. The furniture was all decadent with a distinct feminine style to them. The painting on the wall was a water colour of the capital city that she had picked out at an art gallery exhibition five or six years ago.

"We're…" She trailed off as her eyes continued to wander around the room without moving her head. "Home?"

Specifically his home. This was her room, whenever she stayed over.

Akatsuki hummed in confirmation.

Her relief at being awake turned into confusion as she took stock of the situation. "But we can't be. We were in town. No, wait." She tried to remember what had happened. "No, we moved on. We went back. Back to the Academy…"

"Hunter's Headquarter!" She concluded as she sat up. Or at least tried to. Akatsuki's unyielding arms fixed her in position in his embrace. Letting him have his way for the moment, Ruka relaxed and slumped back against him. Her side was still a bit sore.

It was coming back to her, slowly.

She had been hurt, she thought about it. The wound was serious if not downright fatal. But all she could feel now was a mild ache. The last thing she remembered was Yuuki-sama offering her blood. Then… nothing.

Behind her, Akatsuki remained silent.

The silence was comfortable. And the sound of his heart beat was soothing enough to almost lull her back to sleep. Which raised another question.

"How long have I been out?"

"Thirty-four hours," Akatsuki said.

"Oh." A sense of guilty came over her. "I'm sorry." Akatsuki's usual intonation betrayed none of the turmoil and anguish he must have went through in those long hours. But Ruka knew it would have been difficult. Whenever one of the trio gets hurt, Akatsuki was always the one who felt it the most. It was in his nature to care.

"It's okay." Even if it really wasn't. "How much do you remember."

Ruka thought about it for a moment. "We were standing guard at the Headquarter. No, Yuuki-sama came."

_Ruka, so set yourself free. Give me back the tender person who clings to you. Please._

She paused as feelings of bitterness and regret crept over her. It wasn't meant to happen like this. None of it. There would be deaths, yes. But the innocent was meant to stay unhurt. Collateral damage was to be avoided. But Kaname-sama was relentless in his pursuit of his goal. After months of watching the innocent get cut down or hurt… the sight of Kiryu-kun hurtling down from the rooftop had been the last straw.

She hadn't meant to jump into the crossfire.

She just wanted it all to stop. Kiryu-kun meant nothing to her. The guy had pointed the Bloody Rose at her all those years ago. But Yuuki-sama's words brought out some sense of frustration from within her. She was sick of it all. She just wanted things to go back to the way they were. Before the Night Class had gone to pieces. Before the destruction of the Vampire Council. Before her rose-tinted view on life was cleaned to the ugliness of reality. Back to the simpler days. Back to when it was just the three of them, Hanabusa, Akatsuki and herself. She just wanted it all to stop. She just wanted _him_ to stop.

_This… is too much already…_

"The battle was starting…" she trailed off as she shook off those ugly thoughts and focused on the present. "Though I guess the battle would be over by now."

"Yeah." Came the short indifferent answer.

Ruka paused. Akatsuki's response was unusual. He was a man of few words, yes. But Ruka could always hear his underlying thoughts. Akatsuki was never uncaring. It was unsettling as even she, who had grown up with him, didn't know how to deal with Akatsuki when he's like this.

Ruka reluctantly shifted her focus to what they should do next. As much as she enjoyed the comforting surrounding of childhood memories, there was a war waging on outside and as much as she hated it, they needed to step in and lend a hand.

"I feel much better now. We probably should go back soon." There was so much that needed to be done. Just thinking about it would probably give her a headache. "Seiren will need to scout out another location for us to hide. We'll need to be brought up to date with what happened at the Hunter's Headquarter and go from there. What do you say?"

"No."

Ruka was confused. "What do you mean no?"

"Just that. No."

Sitting up, Ruka leaned back to look up at the man she thought she knew everything about. Akatsuki was the same as ever. His face was haggard and drawn. There were slight circles underneath his eyes as if he hadn't been sleeping well. His hair was unrulier than usual as if it had suffered one too many frustrated ruffles at the hands of its owner. But it was his eyes that concerned her the most. They were shuttered and guarded. A look that she had never seen before.

After over 15 years in his company, Ruka thought she had seen them all. Solemn. Jovial. Resigned. Cheeky. Calm. Riled up. The list goes on. But in every single one of them, Akatsuki remained unguarded towards her. They shared everything. They were each other's best friends.

Suddenly, another memory flashed up in her mind. This new look reminded her of another look she had never seen on his face before.

That of pure and utter rage as he stared down Kaname-sama.

"Akatsuki," she began slowly, her hands reaching up to touch his face. Where did it all go wrong?

"No," he bit off, his arms tightening further around her waist before he let her go. Slipping her out of his lap and back onto the bed, he stood up and backed away from her, his amber eyes blazing with indecipherable emotions. "I'm done. And you're done too. Just forget about it all. I don't care if you think that it's worth fighting for. Or that you're indestructible. Or that everything will somehow turn out fine. Because I'm not going through that again! You could have been hurt!"

Akatsuki broke off as he stared determinedly at the wall behind her. The silence in the room only broken by his harsh intakes of breaths.

"No," he corrected himself tonelessly. "You were hurt. And there was nothing I could do. If it weren't for Yuuki-sama's blood…" He shook his head before continuing. "I promised myself that I'll keep you safe. And I failed. The one promise I made to myself. And I failed."

"It wasn't your fault," Ruka shook her head fervently. "It was me."

But Akatsuki was beyond listening.

"I'm done following his path," he said. "We've done that for years and what good has come out of it? Bloodshed. Shattered lives. And you…" His gaze turned back onto her. He was staring at her as if he could see through her. "When was the last time you laughed?"

It was that last question that became Ruka's undoing. Tears came spilling out as she cried over the things that they had lost or could have had. What have the two of them turned into? What will they become?

Akatsuki wasn't done. "We're doing things my way now. To hell with everything else." Having said his piece, he turned and left the room.

Akatsuki was broken.

And it was all her fault.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Having already done my AU version of post-82 "What the Heart Can't Say," I had to go back and make sure the two tales aren't too similar to one another. So thank you Lushard for forcing me to stretch my imagination a bit! I hope you enjoyed this first part.

Kudos to anyone who figured out which chapter/scene "_Don't be like this, Ruka, let go of him" _came from. :)

Witless Fool


	5. Sunshower Part II: Exposed

**Disclaimer:** Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

**Potential spoiler alert:** This story is set post-83 so if you haven't reached that bit of the manga yet and don't want spoilers, then don't read ahead.

* * *

**Sunshower Part II: Exposed**

**Prompt:** Rain. Drawn. Light. Post-83 angst/bittersweet

_Exposed_: To make known; not concealed; displayed for viewing [Source: The Free Dictionary]

* * *

"Have you talked to him yet?"

Ruka deliberately raised the tea cup to her lips and took a sip. "Of course I have. I talk to him every day."

Annoyance flashed into the sapphire eyes of her company. "You know what I mean, Ruka."

And she did. Ruka sighed as she set down her cup and took a look around their surroundings. The two of them were seated in a decadently decorated drawing room within Akatsuki's family home – one of the five located within the mansion. This has been her sanctuary ever since she woke up three weeks ago with an aching side and a haunting nightmare. The past weeks have been weird, almost like an out-of-body experience. On the one hand, it was familiar and comforting. Sometimes, it was so easy to slip back into her old life and pretend the last few years of her life didn't happen. But they did.

It was hard to reminisce and enjoy life when there was still a war being waged on the outside.

"Well?"

"Of course not!" Fed up, Ruka snapped. "Hanabusa, if I did, would you have had to sneak in through the back garden for tea?"

Her blonde cousin could only nod in defeat. Every single one of his visits in the past few weeks had been monitored carefully by Akatsuki. He never spoke a word, just sat beside Ruka on the couch as she and Hanabusa chatted away. But he never needed to. With a proprietary arm slung across the back of the couch and a smouldering gaze promising retribution should Hanabusa say too much, the blonde knew not to push his luck.

Snagging a cinnamon roll from the plate set between them, Hanabusa bit into it without his usual enthusiasm and relish at the sugary treat. "How long have we got?"

Ruka glanced over at the clock hanging from the wall. "Half an hour, give or take. We could have had more time but _someone_ insisted that I ask the maids for tea and cakes." Her fake look of annoyance faded when she took in the solemness resonating from her cousin. "What's wrong, Hanabusa? What's going on outside?"

"The Association Headquarter is completely collapsed," he said flatly. "The hunters are trying to keep things under wraps but rumours have already spread through our society about the hunters being defenceless. With no hunters keeping order, if any pureblood vampires want to build an army and wage war, we would have no way of stopping them."

"We?" Ruka pointed out. "You're siding with the hunters now?"

"Of course not," Hanabusa sounded horrified at Ruka's mere suggestion.

"Yuuki-sama's working with the hunters, isn't she?" Ruka guessed.

Hanabusa flinched, and that was answer enough.

Ruka ignored him as she pondered over the situation. If Yuuki-sama's back working with Kaein Cross and Zero, then her presence there could perhaps convince the noble vampires not to attack the hunters for the moment. The Night Class would listen to her, which incidentally meant their parents might also do the same. But Yuuki-sama's hold to power was tenuous at best. It wouldn't be long before an enterprising pureblood decide to seize on the opportunity and convince the rest of the vampire society to rise up and rebel against the hunters' rules and orders.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked finally.

"Talk to Akatsuki," came the simple reply. "I know we haven't seen eye to eye on things lately." _Ever since Kaname-sama and Yuuki-sama split_ was left unsaid. "But this situation is serious. If you two come back and help stabilise the Night Class, I'll be free to try and neutralize Sara-sama's blood tablets before they wreck anymore damage."

It wasn't anything Ruka didn't already know. But what made Hanabusa think she could persuade Akatsuki to do anything? He had been as stubborn as a mule these past weeks.

"Ruka," Hanabusa's answer held a hint of pity when she voiced that thought out loud. "Why do you think Akatsuki joined the Night Class in the first place?"

Confused, Ruka started to say, "What do you mean –"

"Hanabusa."

At the sound of the familiar low voice, Ruka and Hanabusa both turned their head towards the doorway. There he stood, leaning casually against the door frame with his arms crossed in front of his chest, a picture of calm and collected. But the fire brewing behind his amber eyes spoke of a different story.

"I can explain," Ruka started to say but was stopped by Hanabusa's hand on her shoulder.

"Akatsuki," Hanabusa acknowledged as he stood up.

"I didn't know we were expecting you today," the redhead nodded in greeting.

Hanabusa's reply was equally brusque. "I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd drop by."

"Should I tell the butler to set the table for three?"

The conversation was pleasant, that was certain. But there was nothing friendly about the two men's tones or facial expressions. Ruka bit her lips, knowing there was nothing she could say to defuse the situation. If anything, she might make the situation worse.

"No need," Hanabusa shrugged as he stepped away from the couch. "I was just going."

"In that case, let me walk you out," Akatsuki, copying his cousin's movements, pushed away from the door frame.

Both men left the room without a backward glance, leaving Ruka sitting there in the drawing room with cups of cooling tea and uneaten sweets. It didn't take a genius to figure out they wanted to have a conversation without her, possibly about, among other things, her. But after weeks of playing lady of the manor, Ruka was sick of being weak and looked after by the men in her life. Akatsuki was always kind and caring but lately, his "for your own good" rationale was getting a bit overbearing.

When Akatsuki comes back, Ruka decided, they were going to have a serious talk.

The one they had been postponing for weeks.

* * *

They stayed silent as they left the drawing room and strolled down the hallway towards the front door, both tacitly agreeing that their conversation would be best conducted out of Ruka's hearing range. The silence was not comfortable. With every step they took away from Ruka, Hanabusa noticed the progressive tightening of his cousin's muscles, the clenching of his fists and jaw, and the hardening glint in his eyes.

As soon as they turned the bend, Akatsuki snapped.

With a smooth move that happened faster than he could have blinked, Hanabusa suddenly found himself wrenched off his feet. The _thud_ elicited from his body being slammed against the wall behind him resonated down the empty corridor. Grunting from the impact, Hanabusa found it difficult to breathe with his windpipe constricted by the sudden tightening of his shirt collar. He swallowed as he met the steely gaze of his cousin, his feet dangling uselessly off the ground.

"I warned you not to drag her into this," Akatsuki's voice was low and laden with barely concealed anger.

"She wanted to know," Hanabusa managed to get out before choking as Akatsuki's grip on his collar tightened even more.

"You listen," Akatsuki pushed Hanabusa against the wall in emphasis. "I won't have you drag her back to the frontline. You still follow the Kurans and do their bidding and that's your choice. But Ruka and I are done."

"You followed the Kurans just as much as I did!" Hanabusa shot back before wincing as his cousin's tightening grip threatened to cut off his air supply.

Fed up, Hanabusa growled as ice erupted from the wall behind him, forcing Akatsuki to relinquish his hold and take a step back. But the redhead was not backing down. His eyes flared up as flames erupted from his clenched fists.

In a battle between fire and ice, even Hanabusa knew the eventual outcome.

With a sigh, he let the power go. The ice around him dissipated like fog on a misty morning. He raised his hands in surrender and took a step back himself.

"Look," he began. "We may not have seen things eye to eye" _for a while now_ "but that doesn't change the fact that there's a mess out there right now that needs sorting out. Yuuki-sama needs all the help she can get and that means we need you."

Akatsuki let out a humourless laugh. "It's always down to the Kurans, isn't it?"

"You followed Kaname-sama," Hanabusa's eyes narrowed with the bitter memory. Ever since they were little, the pair of them had been inseparable. Even now, the fact that Akatsuki had chosen to stick with Kaname-sama while Hanabusa followed Yuuki-sama still stung the blonde a little.

Akatsuki growled, but didn't try to defend himself.

"Why aren't you following him now?" Hanabusa wanted to know. "It's not like you to suddenly withdraw from everything and hide out here."

"I'm not hiding," Akatsuki shot back through gritted teeth.

"Really? Because from where I'm standing, what you are doing certainly looks like hiding to me."

"You don't know the first thing about me."

Hanabusa was incredulous. "How can you say that?!" he demanded loudly, his indignation echoing down the empty corridor. _They grew up together!_ If there was anyone Hanabusa knew like the back of his hand, it would be the guy standing right in front of him. But maybe Akatsuki was right. Maybe Hanabusa didn't really know him. Because the Akatsuki he knew would never back away when things were as critical as they were now. He always stood up for things he cared about.

And then Hanabusa understood.

"This isn't about you, is it?" he said slowly. But even without Akatsuki's answer, as soon as those words left his mouth, Hanabusa knew he had hit bullseye.

Reflecting back on their last encounter on Academy grounds, Hanabusa remembered their confrontation. Embittered with knowing his two cousins were aiding the man who killed his father, Hanabusa was primed for a fight and determined to stop Akatsuki and Ruka from interfering with Yuuki-sama's plans. But with the flick of his wrist and a burst of flames, Akatsuki had waved off his attack and with a _come here Ruka_, gathered her into his arms and disappeared.

That was the last he saw of them until he found them here.

_Of course..._

Quietly, Hanabusa asked. "What happened to her?"

Akatsuki flinched as if Hanabusa had hit him. That reaction was telling enough. But after a long pregnant pause, the redhead began to speak.

"It was at the Hunter's headquarters," Akatsuki began slowly. "We were tasked to stop hunters from interfering with what he was about to do inside. Then Yuuki-sama showed up." He closed his eyes at the memory. "Ruka had been tormented for months over what she had been doing. She wasn't sleeping well. She rarely talked or smiled. If I didn't prompt her, she didn't even bother to feed. When Yuuki-sama showed up and asked us to let her through, her words finally got to Ruka."

He stopped talking at that point, prompting Hanabusa to hesitantly ask, "What did she say?"

_Ruka, so set yourself free. Give me back the tender person who clings to you. Please._

Akatsuki could still see the widening of Ruka's eyes as those words were uttered. In that moment, she had looked so young, so unlike the battle-weary persona she had been adorned, almost as if that thought had never occurred to her. All these months and she had never once thought about herself. Then, in typical impulsive Ruka fashion, she had taken those words to heart and did what she wanted – for all this madness to stop.

"Kaname-sama," Akatsuki broke off as he clenched his jaw in anger. "He and Zero were locked in battle. Ruka tried to stop them. She got in the way."

Hanabusa's eyes widened in shock. "But, how…" he breathed. Wound from an anti-vampire weapon was lethal.

"Yuuki-sama gave Ruka her blood," Akatsuki answered shortly.

Hanabusa wisely kept his mouth shut. It was obvious there was a lot that his cousin had left unsaid.

After a while, Akatsuki continued. "I couldn't keep her safe," he told Hanabusa. His tone was low and flat, almost as if he were uttering those words in defeat. "That was all I needed to do. Go with her and make sure she doesn't get hurt. What am I, if I can't even do that?"

Growing up, Hanabusa thought he knew the depth of Akatsuki's feelings for Ruka. Puppy love. Teenage crush. Unrequited love. But now, looking at the man standing in front of him, Hanabusa realized he had only just scratched the surface. To Akatsuki, Ruka was everything.

"All these months," Hanabusa realised, "when you were following him and doing his bidding, you were only doing them because of her. And now…" _you're still doing all this for her._

Akatsuki didn't reply. But he didn't need to. In the silence that reigned between them, they both knew the answer to that.

* * *

Long after seeing Hanabusa off, his cousin's parting words still echoed in his mind.

"_You can't hide from her forever," Hanabusa said gently. "That's not how life works. Sooner or later, you're going to have to talk to her and tell her everything."_

Akatsuki almost laughed at the thought. He had been hiding from her ever since their first play date as children. He thought she was pretty for a girl, immaculately dressed in her Sunday best. Of course, that was before she and Hanabusa blew up in what was to be the first of many epic battles between the pair. Even with mud smeared all over her dress and the bow in her hair all but undone, there was something about the sparkle in her eye and the stubborn tilt of her chin that made Akatsuki notice her.

Ruka thought she knew everything about Akatsuki, but there had always been a part of him that she didn't realize was there.

Lost in his thoughts, Akatsuki didn't notice another presence in his room until he had closed the door behind him and sealed off the escape route.

"Ruka," he said in surprise.

Ruka didn't waste any time. "Tell me what's going on!" she demanded to know, rising from the window seat and stalking up towards him.

"Nothing," he turned his head, unable to look at her. With emotions running high, Akatsuki wasn't sure he'll be able to hide like he had always done.

"No!" She walked right up to him and poked his chest in emphasis. "This stops right now. We've been hiding out here for weeks now. What's going on? Why are you doing this?"

He snapped.

"Why do I do anything?" He demanded, taking a step forward himself. Startled, Ruka took a step back instinctively.

"I, I- I don't know," she managed to stammer out. This was not the Akatsuki she knew. The one she knew was kind and gentle and always let her or Hanabusa rant it out. But the look on his face now, that cold, hard-gaze in his eyes. She had never seen that before.

But just as that thought entered her mind, a flash of flame burst out from behind her eyelids. With the words _But I'm different_ echoing repeatedly in her mind, Ruka realized she was wrong. She had seen this side of him before. The night of the battle.

But Akatsuki wasn't done. "You know the answer, Ruka."

"What?" Ruka looked genuinely confused. And she was staring at him like she didn't know him at all. It was the look that Akatsuki never wanted to see on her face when she was looking at him. That was why he convinced himself to be content just by being by her side.

But he was done with that. Just like he was done following the Kurans and just letting things happen.

He was going to let it all out. Expose it all. And for once in his life, walk down his own path and see if Ruka would follow him.

"Why am I doing this?" he repeated her words back to her. "You know why. I don't want to see you lying broken and hurt on the snowy ground ever again. I don't want to see you tormented and guilt-ridden over the things that you did – things that you should never had to do in the first place. Everything I've done up to this point was to prevent all that from happening and I failed."

As he spoke, he continued stepping towards her. Ruka didn't realize she was backing away until her back hit the wall behind her. With nowhere to hide, Ruka could do nothing but face the onslaught of words that he was throwing at her.

_Why do I do anything?_ Akatsuki's words sounded eerily similar to Hanabusa's words from earlier this afternoon.

"Why do you think Akatsuki joined the Night Class in the first place?" Hanabusa had asked her.

"What's gotten into you?" Ruka asked, staring wide-eyed up at him.

Akatsuki let out a laugh at that. "You really don't know, do you?"

She stared up at him and her breath caught. His gaze, though dark and intense, was still the amber orbs that she knew from her childhood.

That was the last thing that registered in her mind before Akatsuki lowered his head and captured her lips with his.

Ruka instinctively closed her eyes and leaned in close. His lips were warm and tasted like cinnamon, the cold outside and a texture that she could only identify as solely Akatsuki. Even as she pressed herself closer against him and dimly feel his arms coming in to encircle her waist, a stray thought entered the back of her mind.

_How did I know what Akatsuki tasted like?_

Then, as if doused by a bucket of cold water, Ruka remembered. Blindly, she pressed the palm of hands against Akatsuki's chest and pushed. Hard. Not expecting it, Akatsuki stumbled back in shock.

Breathing hard, Ruka stared at him. "Her blood. You gave it to me."

Slowly, Akatsuki nodded.

"You were fading. Fast." Even now, Akatsuki swallowed at the memory. "There was nothing I could do to stop the bleeding. I would have given you all of mine if that's what it took."

Blood. The one thing that vampires valued above all else, more so than hearts. And he was willing to give her his all.

"No, don't say that," she was still shaking her head in denial. Though in her eyes, Akatsuki could see the dawning realization. She knew what he had said was true.

She just didn't want to face it.

Never taking his eyes off of her, Akatsuki raised his right wrist up to his mouth and bit down harshly without a second thought. Blood spurted out, pumping out in sync with his heartbeat. Ignoring the blood trickling down his jaw, he raised his wrist towards her. As a token. As a sign.

"This, all 5 litres of it," Akatsuki nodded down at his wrist. "It's yours."

Ruka didn't say a word. She stared at him, standing there in front of her, all exposed and open. She didn't know what to do.

"I thought as much." Sighing, he tucked his hand into his pocket, barely noticing the pain that shot up his arm with that action. What was a bit extra pain on top of the pain he was already feeling inside his chest?

He had gambled. And lost.

Akatsuki turned and walked away.

* * *

**Author's Note:** I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Let me know what you guys thought! Part III, coming up next, will be the final chapter. This is one of those prompts that literally could go on to become a long multi-chapter story. Some part of me is tempted by that prospect (I can easily picture 10 or so chapters) but I think I'm going to stick to my guns and ended it in three parts. :)

Thank you all for your ongoing support, especially my reviewers Wing, Lushard and Sebuttsian. You guys have been my rocks throughout this entire series of one-shots and your reviews make every painstaking minute I spent in front of my laptop, haemorrhaging from a case of severe writer's block this week slightly less painful. :D

Witless Fool


	6. Sunshower III: Kaleidoscope

**Disclaimer:** Anybody who's actually reading this would know that Vampire Knight is the creation of Matsuri Hino. I am merely a fan.

**Potential spoiler alert:** This story is set post-83 so if you haven't reached that bit of the manga yet and don't want spoilers, then don't read ahead.

* * *

**Sunshower Part III: Kaleidoscope**

**Prompt:** Rain. Drawn. Light. Post-83 angst/bittersweet

_Kaleidoscope_: Derived from Ancient Greek _kalos_ "beautiful, beauty", _eidos_ "that which is seen: form, shape" and _skopeo_ "to look to, to examine", hence "observation of beautiful forms." [Source: Wikipedia]

A complex pattern of frequently changing shapes and colours [Source: ]

* * *

They've often said that revealing your deepest and darkest emotions were a cathartic experience. Telling the person you loved your true feelings was exhilarating and liberating. Living was a gift and every day was an experience worth journeying through.

They were all just a bunch of idiots.

Everything was just painful. Plain and simple.

Alone in the kitchen, Akatsuki rifled through the cupboard for bandages. But all he could dig up were a couple of rolls of paper towels. He decided it would have to do. In his current frame of mind, it didn't matter if his wrist was throbbing painfully as blood continued to spurt out from his arteries. He was in a world of pain anyway.

But, he noted without much interest as he wiped his wrist with the paper towels roughly, the rate of his blood loss had declined significantly in the last five minutes. The room temperature was a bit colder than what he would have liked. He was also getting a bit sleepy. Normally, he would have put it all down to the blood loss and then done something to heal himself – say, take a bottle of blood tablets. But right now, all he wanted to do was sit down next to a warm fireplace and stare at the blood trickling down his hand into the kitchen sink.

Then, his view was obstructed by a hand.

A warm hand, slender and feminine, had placed itself over his wrist.

Akatsuki blinked and followed the hand up to the arm to find its owner.

"Let me help," Ruka said quietly.

"It's okay," came the automatic reply, trained after years and years of saying it.

"No, it's not," her eyes, teary but determined, were staring up at him.

"I'm fine," came his second most common reply.

"No, you're not." She sighed as she tugged gently on his back with her other hand, guiding him down to sit on one of the kitchen stools. "You're hurt because of someone else's fault. You're losing blood at an alarming rate. Yet despite all that, you are not blaming the person who hurt you even when that person is standing right in front of you."

With both of her hands on his broad shoulders, Ruka stared into his eyes. "Remind you of someone you know?"

The answer was at the tip of his tongue but he knew it didn't need saying.

She tugged another stool closer and sat down directly in front of him. "You said your blood," she swallowed as she turned her face away, letting her hair fall down and hide her expression. "You said they were all mine."

She paused for a moment as she placed the first aid kit that she had brought with her on the kitchen counter and opened it. Picking up a roll of bandage and some gauze, she turned back to gently dab at his wound. In silence, Akatsuki stared down at her bent head as she worked.

Eventually, she started speaking again. "I'm not perfect. I'm selfish and rude. And if you believe Hanabusa, not at all lady-like no matter how good I am at pretending." She looked up at him again. "So I'm going to be selfish right now. Your blood are mine and I don't want them dribbling all over the kitchen, going to waste."

He didn't know how to respond to that.

Silence fell over the kitchen once more as her attention was once more drawn back to the wound on his wrist. She cleaned it with gauze before wrapping it up tightly with a roll of bandage. Once it was all done, he raised his wrist up and tested it out. It was still sore but with the bleeding stopped, his wrist would be as good as new in a day or so.

"Thanks," he thought to say.

Ruka shook her head as she slowly tidied up the area. "It's nothing." She closed the lid of the first aid kit. "But you know what? We've grown up together. I've known you and Hanabusa all my life. There has never been a side of me that I haven't shown you. No secret that I haven't shared. No memories of me being truly alone. Yet," she glanced up at him. "You've practically kept a whole part of you away from me."

"No," he said without thinking. "Not a part."

"Right," Ruka blew out a breath and nodded, lowering her head once more. She understood the meaning behind his words. "So basically, after all those years and all those time together. I –" her breath caught as she raised her head, tears streaming down her face. "I don't know you at all."

Akatsuki shook his head. No! This was not he meant. He was still him. He had always been him. "Ruka," he began.

"No," she shot him down. "You've dumped a lot on me in the last five minutes so I feel I have the right to dump all this back on you. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because if I did, this would happen!" came out before he could stop it.

They stared at each other from their respective corner of the kitchen, both breathing hard from the outburst.

Quietly, he continued. "Off the top of my head, I can think of half a dozen times when I could have told you. The night of our first soiree. When we first moved into the Night Class. During the school break when I found you in Touya's rose garden. During the battle for the Cross Academy. And every single one of the times, in my head, it played out exactly like this."

He smiled wryly. "I'd lose control and reveal everything. You'd deny it at first, then realize I'm serious, then feel betrayed because I've never said anything. And here we are, doing exactly what I had feared all along."

"You're wrong," she said as she took a step forward. Followed by another. And another. "You're wrong. You think you know everything about me. Because I tell you everything. But there's something I've never told you. Something I thought never needed to be said because it was so obvious."

Stopping right in front of him, her gaze softened. "I can't imagine a life without you."

"What?" Akatsuki was stunned.

Ruka nodded in confirmation. "All my life, I've imagined growing up, living day by day with you by my side. With Kaname-sama," she hesitated at mentioning his name but decided it was time. Time to lay everything out in the open. They need to clean out the wounds in order to let the healing start.

"With him, it was awe and adoration and looking back, an obsession. Like moths being drawn to a flame, someone once said. I think that description is quite apt. Even then," she gave a little laugh. "I can't imagine not having you there with me. You and Hanabusa would be his right-hand men. Of course, all little girls need to grow up. I knew I would never be like _that_ to him. Even if my affections were returned, he would have all of eternity and me, a handful of centuries. So I grew up. I just wanted to follow him and be of some use. I wished Yuuki-sama and him could be happy together. Though now, that doesn't seem possible, anymore."

She raised her right hand, sliding it beneath his jacket and laid it over his chest. She could feel the beating of his heart beneath his collared shirt. How many times has that sound lured her into sleep over the years? Even now, with it beneath her hand, she felt soothed and sure of what she was doing.

"As for me, I just wanted to continue being with you. Because I know when I stumble, I'll be picked up. With you, I know if I stuff up, someone will be there to call me out on my faults. With you, I know there will be someone there to share all my joys and tears, triumphs and sorrows. With you," she sighed as she stepped forward one more step, bringing her right up against him. "I know I'll never be alone."

His arms came around her before he was aware of them doing so. "Ruka," he breathed out as he lowered his head to rest it on top of hers. "Ruka. You have to be sure. You have to be absolutely sure."

There was something blooming inside of him. Hope. And one wrong word from her could shatter it completely. But he couldn't bring himself to ask.

Still within the circle of his arms, Ruka leaned back so she could look at him. Her right hand was still trapped between their chests so she brought her left hand up to touch his face. "You're not second best," she said softly.

He stared at her in disbelief. Of course she would know. Only she would know the words he wanted to hear. No, needed to hear.

"You're not," she repeated, her voice catching a little at the end. "Because despite all my selfishness, rudeness, tantrums and hissy-fits, sulking and crying, you're still here. I –"

She broke off as his lips came crashing down on hers. Ruka gasped at the contact and Akatsuki seized the opportunity to enter her mouth. Their tongues met, tentatively at first, before entwining and stroking one another. Ruka sighed as she pressed herself closer to Akatsuki. It felt like saying hello after having not seen each other for a very long time. Her hands, through their own volition, entangled themselves into the thick locks of his hair. His were tightly wrapped around her waist, holding her against him.

It wasn't the perfect start to a relationship, even if that was what was going on between the two of them. They have so much history behind them and so many obstacles ahead. But, on that evening, in the kitchen, they both decided it was a start.

And that was good enough for them.

* * *

Akatsuki would have liked to believe that after they've finally agreed to have a go at being together, everything would be smooth-sailing like it always was in the fairy tales. But he knew it would never be that easy. There were still issues and feelings they had to talk through and deal with.

But more importantly, there was a war out there that they needed to re-join.

It took Ruka another couple of days to finally bring the subject up again. But when she did, he knew it was the right thing to do. They were needed. As much as he wanted to protect her from harm, there were some things that he had to let her do.

"I'll be okay," she had said to him on the ride over to the Academy. She had grabbed his hand and smiled up at him. "I have you, don't I?"

In the span of a few short weeks, a lot of things had changed. The hunters, though few in numbers, had always been a force to contend with. But now that their headquarter had crumbled and their weapons decimated, they are a knife's edge from engaging in an all-out-war should the vampires ever decide to attack.

Their only saving grace was Yuuki-sama.

She had changed since the last time they saw her. Her long flowing strands of hair were gone, replaced by the short bob from the early days of the Academy. The elegant gowns were traded for a jacket, short skirt and leather boots – clothes more ideal for running. Instead of glittering jewels donning her hands, Artemis became her ever present companion.

Which was why Akatsuki went looking for Ruka after he had been updated by Hanabusa on their current progress. They knew things had changed. But they had underestimated the scope of the change. He needed to make sure she was okay.

He found her hiding in the ensuite.

She was sitting on the vanity table, with her back leaning against the mirror. She was back in the familiar Night Class uniform – to help blend in – and there was a pair of scissors by her side. Her head was tilted up at the ceiling, as if the whiteness of it was helping her thought process. She was lost in her thoughts, her legs were idly swinging against the vanity counter in a way that he hadn't seen since their childhood days.

"You okay?" he asked softly. It had been a long day. There was a lot to take in.

Ruka blinked and turned her head to look at him. "Yeah," she answered. "Just thinking?"

He walked over and hopped onto the counter by her side. "About what?" He bumped her shoulder with his.

"How good you look in the uniform."

He made a face as he glanced down at himself. "Yeah, I forgot to get it ironed before putting it on."

Ruka giggled, a rare sound but one he was getting to hear more frequently these days. She leaned her head against his shoulder. "Don't. You wouldn't be Akatsuki without missing vests, untucked shirts and rumpled jackets."

He couldn't argue with that.

They sat like in companionable silence. Her head on his shoulder. His arm around her shoulders. It was comfortable and nice. If only the peace could last. But they both knew, outside the door of the ensuite, there was work to be done, research to be conducted and a war to be won.

"What's with the scissors?" he eventually asked, gesturing to it lying on the other side of her.

"Oh," Ruka blinked, glancing down as if she had just discovered they were there. "It's nothing."

He waited, knowing by the tone in her voice that it was more than nothing.

"It's just that," she began. "Yuuki-sama cut her hair." She gestured with her free hand, the one that wasn't presently tucked inside his jacket and around his waist. "It was like a sort of cleansing, letting go of who she was, who she can no longer be, so that she could become who she needs to be at the moment."

"And you wondered if you should cut your hair," he guessed.

Ruka nodded, her hair tickling the side of his throat. "Maybe I need to too, so I can let go of the past. What do you think?"

Akatsuki thought about it for a moment. He didn't mind either way. Ruka with short hair always reminded him of the happier times, when life was simple and she was always smiling (well, that or fighting with Hanabusa). But her hair now, he could tangle his hands in it and play with it all day. Besides, it was ultimately her decision.

"Cutting it," he said. "That's like shedding a layer of your past – a part you wish to forget or a part you can no longer be. There have been painful memories, yes. But happy ones too. You," he kissed her forehead. "You have to decide if you want to let go of the past or keep it."

Ruka stayed silent for a while. "Let me think about it, okay?"

He kissed her again. On the lips this time. "Take all the time you need."

"It's just that I don't think I'm ready to let go of the past yet," she mused out loud. "It's been good. And bad. And…" she trailed off as she looked up at him. "It's led me to this."

_I love you._ He wanted to say it then. The words were at the back of his throat but he swallowed them back. One day, he decided as he settled for tightening his hold on her instead. One day he would be ready to say those words and she would be ready to hear it.

Soon.

"I mean, you just can't take the good without the bad, can you?" she sighed, resettling her head back on his shoulder.

No, Akatsuki thought as he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head, they couldn't. Just like there they couldn't have sunshine without rain. Both have to exist to place significance on each other. Without rain, you'd never truly appreciate the warmth of the sun. Yet all sunshine and no rain would lead to drought and famine and end of all things. You need both. You always need both.

Better yet, sometimes, when you combine the two, sunshine with the rain, the good with the bad, you can get a rainbow.

Sunshower.

* * *

**Author's Note:** And there we have it, sunshower! Hope you guys enjoyed it!

[Not wanting to artificially inflate my word count, there's an extended A/N on my profile page, at the bottom, regarding my future plans post this series for those interested in knowing.]

I hope everyone who has read this and/or any of my other VK stories have enjoyed the ride we've all taken together. Whether you are a first time reader or someone who's been with me since the beginning, thank you! And I couldn't have done it without all your support!

It's been great!

Witless Fool

Special thanks to: Winterwing3000, ErisAndTheWhale, Sebuttsian, Lushard, Lucius Vayne, AKA-TSUKI, Athrun-chan. Your reviews for this series have really helped me persevere and finish, giving this series an ending that I've often doubted I could write.


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